Queen Rania Meets with the U.S. Department of State Entrepreneurship Delegation

June 30, 2010

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department- Amman) Her Majesty Queen Rania met today with the U.S. Department of State Entrepreneurship Delegation, at the end of their 4 day visit to the kingdom.

The delegation, which consists of leading U.S. venture capital investors, entrepreneurs and pioneers, has been meeting with several Jordanian entrepreneurs, investors, educators and government officials to share expertise and learn about the economic and entrepreneurial environment in Jordan.

During the meeting, Her Majesty discussed with the delegation the importance of sharing knowledge and skills, between the Jordanian and American entrepreneurs specifically in the ICT field. Her Majesty also discussed with them the importance of “social media for social good”, a concept that Her Majesty championed online.

The visiting delegation expressed to Her Majesty how impressed they were with what they saw during their trip and the business savvy skills of Jordanian entrepreneurs, especially the small scale enterprises.

The delegates told Her Majesty that they were particularly impressed by Jordanian women, who were running their own small scale enterprises, from small and remote areas, selling everything from rare mushrooms to traditional old-recipe spicy pickles and herbs. Some of these women are generating around 200 to 300 dollars a month as added income to their families. They were also all extremely impressed with the ability of these women to present their work like professional business CEOs.

The delegation also committed to help provide high-impact mentorship training to local entrepreneurs, and the know-how for them to expand and scale up their emerging enterprises.

Shervin Pishevar, a technology entrepreneur and current Executive Chairman of Social Gaming Network (SGN), expressed how impressed he was with the Jordanian people and culture, and the vision of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania that encourages entrepreneurs and creates the right environment for them to flourish and expand their businesses in, adding that “it’s clear that change will happen in Jordan, with us or without us.”

About his experience in Jordan Mr. Pishevar also said that when he was at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, he felt like he was at the highest mountain top, gazing into the future.

Her Majesty had met members of the delegation in “Le Web” conference in Paris last year, and encouraged them at the time to visit Jordan and witness first-hand the advances that the ICT industry in Jordan has achieved. She also encouraged them to meet with local tech start-ups and to offer them guidance and mentoring.